For William Delahunt, medical pot grass greener

Hillary ChabotTuesday, November 26, 2013

Credit: Unknown

WILLIAM DELAHUNT

William Delahunt — who once vowed as a lawman to hit pot peddlers “where it hurts” — is looking to enter the multimillion-dollar medical marijuana business by opening three dispensaries, saying he changed his tune after hearing testimony from pain sufferers who get relief from weed.

“No one has ever died of a marijuana overdose,” said Delahunt, a former Norfolk County district attorney and congressman who joined a team of doctors to create the nonprofit Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts. The group is seeking three of the 35 licenses set to be handed out by the Department of Public Health by Jan. 31.

“When you hear the testimony in Congress and on Beacon Hill, you can understand why this is necessary,” Delahunt said.

As a district attorney in the 1990s, Delahunt pledged to “hit them where it hurts” after two men were arrested with 50 pounds of marijuana. Asked yesterday why he pushed for stiffer laws against marijuana dealers, he said, “They weren’t using it then for medicinal purposes.”

Delahunt — who said he has never smoked pot himself — was once famous for taking vacations at Hedonism II, an “adult resort” in Jamaica renowned for its nude beach, toga parties and rampant reefer toking.

The Quincy Democrat is now seeking to open medical marijuana dispensaries — which could rake in millions of dollars through legalized sales — in Mashpee, Plymouth and Taunton.

Delahunt said he decided he would be open about the process when he joined the team of doctors.

“I told them that if I’m going to get involved, you have to create a group that’s multidisciplined, that has a background in public safety and addiction and treatment,” he said.

Department of Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett is expected to select members of a commission within the next few weeks who will review the 100 applications and give recommendations, said spokesman David Kibbe. Bartlett will make the final choice on who receives the licenses by Jan. 31.

Kibbe said license requests will be judged impartially, and Delahunt won’t get any favored treatment.

Bay State voters approved a ballot question allowing medical marijuana for patients with debilitating illnesses more than a year ago. Applicants began filing last summer, and those who made it through the first round need to file site-specific plans backed up with a letter of support from the community.

Bartlett released on Friday the names of 100 organizations that applied for a license to sell marijuana.